


Where We Came Forth, and Once More Saw the Stars

by Yaratree



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Blood, Hurt/Comfort, Kylo Ren is Trying, M/M, Poor Hux is Bleeding, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 17:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20492906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yaratree/pseuds/Yaratree
Summary: Whose idea had it been to have an A-level meeting in some remote village on some remote moon where the attendees were dropped off by shuttles that weren’t expected back for days?Security,they said; Hux was going to stab whoever came up with the ideaandhowever-many people approved it.





	Where We Came Forth, and Once More Saw the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired last year by @la-vie-en-whump's Whumptober prompts, and then, you know, never posted. Hopefully this will be a stepping stone for more writing for me. *crosses fingers* Title from Dante's Inferno.
> 
> It's short, it's unbeta'd, it's painful for Hux -- wade on in, the water's stabby.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

The stars above shimmered sweetly as Hux stumbled down a side street, curled inward on himself and grasping at his side with wet hands. His raspy breaths puffed white in the air as a chill settled into the night.

He was already leaving the brightest of the village lights behind him as he staggered through the sprawl of simple, close-set houses. Not a single townsperson was out – he supposed he couldn’t blame them, between the First Order’s occupation and the fire currently engulfing the middle of town – and every door and window was shuttered, leaving only crickets and his labored breathing to fill the night. As he entered into a deep shadow between two houses, he slowed and lurched gratefully against a mud wall.

_You’re the general_, the woman in officer’s dress had said – it couldn’t have been more than half an hour ago. _General Hux, the one that commanded Starkiller Base. _

The question felt like a slap in the face, every time. He’d rolled his untouched drink in his hands and smiled mirthlessly in response as the other generals and Summit attendees talked around them.

A groan escaped Hux as he leaned heavily against the side of the house and peeled his hands away from his side. He took a moment to breathe before peering down at the expansive dark shine making its way down his left side, hip, and leg. _Too much, too much_, rang in his head.

He would never make it to the meeting point.

_Walk with me, _she’d said, and he’d reluctantly agreed for lack of a plausible excuse, aware he could afford to offend no one important enough to attend this year’s summit. But he’d been too distracted, paid too little attention as she’d led him away from the opening mixer and the back lawn, around the side of the old manor, and out of sight; he’d just turned to glance back when a bright pain exploded across the side of his head and sent him staggering. A blow to the stomach followed, and he doubled over. 

_You, I wanted to kill personally. _He'd been too dazed to see where the knife came from as she lodged it near the bottom of his ribs and gave it a rough twist. _That’s for my daughter. _

She gored him again. _And for Hosnian Prime._

And again. _The rest of the Hosnian System, you son of a bitch._

Sagging deeper against the wall, Hux clenched his teeth as he pressed his hands back into his side, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. He tried again to get his erratic breathing under control as he tilted his head back and screwed his eyes shut. He thought about lying down right there in the dirt, just for a moment, just until he could gather the strength to keep moving. But if he did, he knew he would never get back up.

The effort had almost undone him last time.

The wind ran curling, whispering fingers over his temples, ruffling the loose hair hanging over his forehead. It sapped the heat from the sweat and cooling blood soaking him; violent shivers racked him.

He had somehow managed to keep his feet and reach for the knife in his boot. But as he’d lashed out blindly toward her, a series of thunderous explosions boomed across the lawn behind them, violently shredding the gathering dusk. The force caught them in its periphery and slammed them into the air like sea spray.

Only by instinct had he tracked her as they’d flown through the air, ears ringing, and landed hard, ten feet apart.

And only by luck had his throw sunk home.

For just a moment more he’d lain dazed, panting, until escalating blaster fire and yelling drove him – injured, unarmed, and uninformed – further away from the scream-filled inferno that had become of the picturesque back lawn.

Using what felt like every muscle in his body, Hux pushed himself back off the wall, willing his legs to hold him as he took a slow, wheezing breath. He was going to make it out of town, or he was going to die. Those were his options right now.

Who was responsible for the attack, and had sought to assassinate a number of the sector’s top commanders, he didn’t know. It could have been the Resistance, insurgent locals, or even a goddamn coup – and he had a funny feeling about that one – but that was something he could worry about later. If he had a later.

As he stumbled around the corner of the house and across the packed dirt lane, the sharp slam of a door rang in the night like a shot, making him startle and stumble. A rustling and snap of shutters followed, extinguishing a sliver of light ahead of him. Hux gritted his teeth as he fought to retain his balance and momentum.

The repetitive houses swam before him. It helped to focus on one thing at a time; he set his sights on making it to this next street, to the next house, one step, another step.

There – finally, the endless grassy fields ahead of him, dim between two rows of houses. And there, farther out – the small hill and the solitary tree that stood proudly upon it.

_Meet me at the ritual tree, the one on the knoll, _Ren had said after frantically comm-ing him some ten minutes after the summit had gone to hell, when Hux had still been curled up in an alley three streets away from the manor clutching helplessly at his side and pleading with the blood seeping through his fingers. The memory of his shrill voice stuck in Hux’s head: _Hux, Hux goddamnit answer me – I heard about the attack on the summit – Hux, say something – _

The fact that he’d been able to get through on the comm meant Ren had already been close by. Hux hadn’t been able to raise the _Finalizer _through the planet’s natural atmospheric interference, which had been intended to keep the summit secure but had turned it into a death trap –

Whose idea had it been to have an A-level meeting in some remote village on some remote moon where the attendees were dropped off by shuttles that weren’t expected back for days? _Security_, they said; Hux was going to stab whoever came up with the idea _and _however-many people approved it.

_I’ll be there soon, and I don’t want to alert whoever planned this to your presence. Or mine, _Ren had said. But _fuck_, the tree was far away.

The blood was tangy on his tongue as he lurched forward again, toward the sea of grass. He’d come this far, only another quarter mile or so...

The soft spring of grass under his feet was like a revelation. The sweet fragrance rose up to fill him, and he felt his breathing ease even as the rest of his body teetered on the verge of shutting down. As he waded out into it, hunched, stumbling, it seemed for a surreal moment that, in the silent stillness, the entirety of the universe consisted of the brilliant stars and flowing grasses spinning around him.

A few more shaky steps and the world pitched sharply. He caught a faceful of dirt as he failed to break his fall.

The grasses cushioned him, rustled around him, ghosted caresses over him like a gentle lover as they blew in the wind.

A series of deepening coughs seized him, bringing fresh blood to his mouth and dribbling over his lips. He stopped trying to keep his eyes open.

He was so, so cold.

He lay on the ground and shivered, lulled into unconsciousness by the symphony of crickets and whispering grasses.

**

Hux dreamed.

He dreamed he had a small glass orb in his hands that held all of the life in the universe. It glowed with a soft yellow light, and within it Hux could see the greens of forests, the blues of rain and sea, and the bright patterns of all sentient beings as they went about their lives. He watched, mesmerized, awed, as trillions of lives wove around each other and stars were born and shone and died, and he never wanted to look away.

**

He felt himself jostled and heard a voice join the crickets and the wind.

“No, no, no – don’t be dead Hux, come on…”

He was turned onto his back and a hand grasped his wrist. There was silence for a moment.

“Thank _god _– ”

He was moved again, lifted off the ground.

“It’s ok, I’ve got you. You’re going to be ok…”

With the voice next to his ear, Hux breathed a little more deeply, and slipped back into oblivion.

**Author's Note:**

> Any kudos or comments y'all want to leave, whether one word or one hundred, make my day every time. :)
> 
> Musical bonus: [Mood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=honENPBYdgg&feature=youtu.be)


End file.
